Surrogate Dad
by Audrie Michelle
Summary: Mattie reconciles with her Dad and then... Read on!
1. Default Chapter

My other story--JAG: Jaidyn Style--is currently in Vermont. I, however, am in MI with family. I have not forgotten it--no worries. In fact, I have copies of further chapters on a disk in my room. I had this story in my head and knew that I couldn't rest without getting it out. I hope that you enjoy it and that you are having a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

"You can't make me! You're not my—" Mattie was abruptly, but patiently cut off by her ex-guardian.

"Stop. Just… stop. I don't want you to say something that you're going to regret." Harm didn't mention his own fear of regret from her unspoken words.

Rather than responding, a strange look crossed Mattie's face. As tears began to pool in the young girl's eyes, she finally broke down sobbing. Only hours before, the sixteen year-old was informed of her biological father's death. She had been living with him for a little over week to date. The two had been working diligently in order to rebuild Grace Aviation. In fact, Mattie had been getting up at 5:00am every morning only to spend two hours going over the bills with her father. At 7:00 she would quickly shower, dress, and eat, pushing the speed limits to get to school on time. It did help, however, that she officially had her license and was considered a legal driver.

At school, Mattie would work extra hard in order to have time to crunch numbers after her work was finished. She had even taken a blow to her pride and had asked her English teacher to rewrite the employee handbook and dictate compelling and informative notes to the bank regarding the business.

While his daughter was at school, Tom did his own number crunching at his new job as a farm hand. Because Mattie had the truck, Tom would walk to his job to perform the ten hour grueling, yet satisfying, job of farming.

By the time Tom would come home around 8:00 pm, Mattie would have the laundry started, her homework finished, dinner on the table, and her copy of a workable budget. The two would then "enjoy" a brief dinner only to compare notes on the business for the next four hours. Both would collapse, exhausted, somewhere around midnight.

That all changed, however, when Tom took a curve too fast and hit a semi head-on.

Harm saw Mattie replaying the past week and a half, their current argument about where she would stay put on hiatus. He immediately tried to stop her mental route.

"Mats, please don't go there. Honey, let me call the doctor. He can get you some sleep meds. Please—you need to sleep."

The shakes began again, with Mattie slipping down into a place where Harm couldn't reach her. Making an authoritative decision, he called 911 and stayed on the line with the operator until he heard the sirens coming down the road.

The noise seemed to bring Mattie to a semi-conscious state, though she was most definitely not rational.

"No! I won't go! I am staying here! At my hoooouse!!!"

Harm no longer worried about giving the girl bruises from stilling her flailing arms. Any self-control had gone out the proverbial window when Mattie delivered a blow to his ear that busted his eardrum.

Hearing the EMTs at the door, Harm called out an "in here!"

Mattie was thrashing and shifting between gut-wrenching sobs and screams which would cause her to go hoarse.

Within seconds the crew had a shot filled and aimed in Mattie's arm. The medicine took effect a few seconds later.

Finally, at 1:37 am, on New Year's Day, Mathilda Grace collapsed—silent—into the arms of Harmon Rabb, Jr.

Harm shuddered, mumbling barely audibly to take Mattie to Pennington Medical Center in Sleepy Hollow. If he was going to spend his entire Christmas break in the hospital, at least both of his girls could be in the same one.


	2. He Was What?

"Ha…"

"Shh… Mattie, I'm right here. I am not going to leave you." Harm had been anxiously waiting by his ex-ward's bedside for her to come to. He refused to move even when the Doctor had been treating his eardrum, opting to stay near his ward and bite back the urge to scream against the pain. Meanwhile, Mattie had had a restless night even with the drugs. Harm, knowing he couldn't protect her fro m the nightmares, did everything he could to make her comfortable. He had even requested a warm blanket be brought in every hour.

"Harm? What time is it?"

"Hmm? Oh… 11:37."

Mattie nodded and shifted against the sterile hospital bed.

"Lunch should be brought in within a few minutes. You should eat—you missed breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

"Mattie, you have to—"

"I said no, Harmon. Quit bossing me."

Harm pulled back, eyebrows raised at her use of his full name. "I… uh—think I'm going to go see Mac. She's just a few doors down, room 212. If you need me, dial 1212." Harm reached over and wrote down the number, leaving it next to Mattie's bed.

Mattie didn't protest, only watching her used-to-be guardian's every move.

Harm turned to face her, speaking softly, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sighing, Harm walked slowly down the few doors to a room that was exactly the same as Mattie's only reversed. The room had the same sterile, almost suffocating scent. The walls were exactly the same white, too white.

"Hey, Sailor." Mac was awake and looking much better than she had four days ago.

"Hey, Mac." Harm crossed the room with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Harm could tell that she didn't just mean his recently bandaged ear.

Harm reached for her hand as he pulled up a chair next to her.

"Mattie's father died. He was in an accident."

"Oh—I'm so sorry."

"How's Mattie handling the situation?"

"She… She's not. Harm took a deep breath and explained everything from the cell phone call from Mattie to her early morning short words she had offered him this morning.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Harm. Do you want me to go talk to her?"

"I don't know. I—"

"He was drunk, Harm."

Both Mac and Harm turned to see Mattie standing at the door, IV on wheels in tow, looking as vulnerable as her first evening she had spent in Harm's custody, only this time she really did look like she would break if Harm had reached out to her and hugged her.


End file.
